Former D.C. United coach Ben Olsen hired to lead MLS’s Houston Dynamo
The Philadelphia Union have hired Ben Olsen to be their next head coach.
Olsen had spent the previous three weeks scouting Houston, an offer he first made public just hours after accepting the job with a tweet: “I love your city. Best city in MLS!”
His appointment as head coach of the Union may not please many Union fans, but they’ve been waiting a decade for the man who revolutionized the NWSL and led the Chicago Red Stars to last year’s NWSL championship. They won’t hate him; he won’t have any problem winning a job after a strong season guiding DC United to the MLS Cup. So what should their reaction be?
I’d say, “Oh my god, now somebody will finally get this guy to be able to coach like the guy we saw in Chicago,” or “Oh my god, now he gets to coach like the guy we saw in DC.” One other thing: I can’t believe it took three weeks for this one to happen. In his first game with DC, Olsen managed to go 12 straight minutes without getting a shot. This is a guy that would have been the best coach in MLS right now if he had stayed there.
Ben Olsen will take over from Dominic Kinnear as head coach of D.C. United. (Photo courtesy of Twitter)
Olsen’s deal with D.C. United is for three years, with an option year following if the club does not make the playoffs. For his services, he will get a salary close to the league average for an MLS head coach, but only if he can take DC United deep into the playoffs.
The Union, coming off a 2-1 home loss to the Chicago Fire on Wednesday night, fired Tony Meola on Sunday night. Meola had guided the club to five wins in his first six games of the season. His contract was set to expire at year’s end and had drawn interest from the Red Bulls, but he turned it down
